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Biomedical subjects

B Halliwell

Publications and source records attributed to B Halliwell.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Ferroxidase and ascorbate oxidase activities of caeruloplasmin in synovial fluid from rheumatoid patients.

1. The protein caeruloplasmin inhibits certain free radical reactions, in part probably due to its ability to oxidize Fe2+ into Fe3+ (ferroxidase activity). Since caeruloplasmin is present in synovial fluid from rheumatoid patients, we investigated its properties in relation to protection of the joint from damage by oxygen radicals produced by activated phagocytes. 2. The ferroxidase and ascorbate oxidase activities of serum from both normal and rheumatoid patients could be accounted for by the caeruloplasmin present, as determined immunologically. More caeruloplasmin is present in the serum of rheumatoid patients than in normal serum. 3. Synovial fluid from rheumatoid patients contains caeruloplasmin protein but its ferroxidase and ascorbate oxidase activities are abnormally low. It is suggested that ferroxidase deficiency contributes to radical damage in the rheumatoid joint.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1983

Formation of hydroxyl radicals from hydrogen peroxide and iron salts by superoxide- and ascorbate-dependent mechanisms: relevance to the pathology of rheumatoid disease.

1. Superoxide and hydrogen peroxide are formed by activated phagocytes and react together in the presence of iron salts to form the hydroxyl radical, which attacks hyaluronic acid. Ascorbic acid also interacts with hydrogen peroxide and iron salts to form hydroxyl radical in a reaction independent of superoxide. Since iron salts, ascorbate and activated phagocytes are present in the rheumatoid joint, experiments were designed to see whether ascorbate-dependent or superoxide-dependent formation of hydroxyl radicals would be more important in vivo. 2. In the present study, addition of ascorbate to a superoxide-generating system at concentrations of 100 mumol/l provoked a superoxide-independent formation of hydroxyl radicals for a short period. Lower concentrations of ascorbate did not do this. It is therefore suggested that the superoxide-dependent reaction is probably more important. 3. It is further suggested that destruction of ascorbate by oxygen radicals formed by activated phagocytes accounts for the previously reported low concentrations of this compound in the serum and synovial fluid of rheumatoid patients.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1983

Effect of a specific iron chelating agent on animal models of inflammation.

Iron is an important catalyst of oxidative radical reactions and promotes the formation of the hydroxyl radical from the superoxide anion radical and hydrogen peroxide. The stimulatory effect of the hydroxyl radical on lipid peroxidation prompted the speculation that free iron may directly promote inflammation and that iron chelating agents may have useful anti-inflammatory properties. This hypothesis is tested in animal models of inflammation with a specific iron chelating agent, desferrioxamine. At low doses (6 . 6 mg/kg) intraperitoneal desferrioxamine stimulated the induction of acute foot pad swelling in rats by monosodium urate but at higher doses (above 200 mg/kg) it suppressed this inflammatory reaction. A similar anti-inflammatory effect was observed in carrageenan-induced foot pad swelling. In guinea-pigs in which a Glynn-Dumonde synovitis was induced with bovine gammaglobulin, desferrioxamine (100 mg/kg) stimulated the acute inflammatory induction phase of this chronic allergic monoarthritis model. Repeated administration of desferrioxamine (100 mg/kg) from the seventh to the twelfth day after intra-articular challenge with bovine gammaglobulin markedly depressed the chronic inflammatory phase. In-vitro experiments suggest that desferrioxamine inhibits iron-catalysed lipid peroxidation when it is poorly saturated with iron, but loses this effect when it is iron saturated. Such an effect may explain our results with desferrioxamine in the animal studies and suggests that effective iron chelation and its removal may modify the inflammatory process in man.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1982

Superoxide-dependent formation of hydroxyl radicals and lipid peroxidation in the presence of iron salts. Detection of 'catalytic' iron and anti-oxidant activity in extracellular fluids.

Synovial fluid from rheumatoid patients and normal cerebrospinal fluid contains micromolar concentrations of non-protein-bound iron salts that can promote lipid peroxidation and also the superoxide-dependent formation of hydroxyl radicals from hydrogen peroxide. These iron catalysts of oxygen radical reactions cannot be detected by conventional assays unless interfering high-molecular-weight substances, probably proteins, are removed by ultrafiltration or inactivated by exposure to low pH values. The bleomycin assay for ;catalytic' iron [Gutteridge, Rowley & Halliwell (1981) Biochem. J.199, 263-265] does not suffer from these artifacts.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

The role of the superoxide and hydroxyl radicals in the degradation of DNA and deoxyribose induced by a copper-phenanthroline complex.

DNA degradation by a copper(II)-phenanthroline complex was studied in the presence of NADH, 2-mercaptoethanol or a mixture of hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidase, which generates the superoxide radical, O2-. In all cases degradation was prevented by catalase but not by scavengers of the hydroxyl radical, OH. It remains possible, however, that OH was generated in close association with DNA so that the scavengers could not remove it before it reacted. Superoxide dismutase inhibited DNA degradation at low copper (II) phenanthroline concentrations in the presence of NADH or hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase, but not at higher complex concentrations. Superoxide dismutase had little effect on DNA degradation in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol. The role of oxygen radicals in the DNA degradation induced by copper(II) phenanthroline is discussed.

Biotransformation↗
PubMed1982

Formation of hydroxyl radicals from the paraquat radical cation, demonstrated by a highly specific gas chromatographic technique. the role of superoxide radical anion, hydrogen peroxide, and glutathione reductase.

Yeast glutathione reductase catalyzes an NADPH-dependent reduction of the herbicide paraquat in vitro. The single-electron reduced paraquat radical reacts with O2 to generate the superoxide radical, O2.-. Hydroxyl radicals (OH.) can also be detected in this assay system by their reaction with phenol to form diphenols, as assayed quantitatively by a highly specific and sensitive method employing gas-liquid chromatography. Formation of hydroxyl radicals can be virtually completely suppressed by catalase and partially suppressed by superoxide dismutase. The role of hydroxyl radicals and superoxide in paraquat toxicity in vivo is discussed.

Chromatography, Gas↗
PubMed1981

The importance of iron in rheumatoid disease.

The hypothesis is that iron, which accumulates in rheumatoid synovial membrane and fluid contributes to the variable expression of rheumatoid disease in two ways. Firstly, it catalyses oxidative radical reactions which lead to the formation of the hydroxyl radical and subsequent lipid peroxidation. Hydroxyl radicals and lipid peroxidation cause extensive disruption of cellular and organelle membranes and promote inflammatory tissue damage. Secondly, the infiltration of the rheumatoid synovium by chronic inflammatory cells may be due not to an antigenic process but to the tendency for these cells, which have receptors for iron-binding proteins, to migrate towards deposits of iron.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1981

Light activation of fructose bisphosphatase in photosynthetically competent pea chloroplasts.

The fructose bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) activity of type A chloroplasts isolated from young (9-day-old) pea (Pisum sativum var. Progress no. 9) plants, assayed at physiological pH, substrate and Mg2+ concentrations, increased rapidly on illumination. The enzyme activity detected was more than sufficient to account for observed rates of Co2 fixation both during the induction period and during steady-state CO2 fixation, whether or not dihydroxyacetone phosphate had been added to the preparation. Omission of catalase from the suspension medium had no effect. On switching off the light, CO2 fixation by the chloroplasts ceased at once, yet fructose bisphosphatase activity decreased much more slowly. Changes in enzyme activity were much less marked if assays were conducted at 3 mM substrate and 10 mM-Mg2+. Chloroplasts from older (13--20-day-old) peas only fixed CO2 rapidly if catalase was present in the assay medium. The fructose bisphosphatase activity detected under physiological assay conditions was again more than sufficient to account for observed rates of Co2 fixation. In the presence of added dihydroxyacetone phosphate, however, the rate of Co2 fixation appeared to be determined by the rate of light activation of fructose bisphosphatase. In general, the rates of Co2 fixation and enzyme activation, and the final enzyme activity achieved, decreased markedly with increasing age of the plants. The role of light activation of fructose bisphosphatase as a means of controlling the rate of CO2 fixation in pea chloroplasts is discussed.

Carbon Dioxide↗